Though, speaking from experience as a professional concept artist... sometimes I think the skimpy armor is a bit out of my own hands. =/ I do try to go beyond the chainmail bikinis though. It is good to have a range of character types and we see too little of that for sure.

Your work is inspiring. I made an account on this site just to comment on it. I want to say as a male Sci-Fi/Fantasy enthusiast, that I tire of seeing female characters with disproportionate bodies, skimpy clothing or worse; armor, and unnecessarily seductive poses that have nothing to do with the content, action or tone of the piece that contains them. Your work is exactly what I've been wanting to see for years. Not only is it technically impressive and aesthetically pleasing, but shows that women in fantasy art can be as strong and heroic as men, and don't have to be overtly sexualized to do so. Which is not to say that they can't be sexy. Thanks so much, you've made a very enthusiastic fan.

Totally agree with you there (male as well). I feel like deviantART definitely disproportionately rewards artists who rely on overt sexualization (I guess it's right there in the site's name, huh? ) and, yeah, it has a snowball effect on the entire industry mindset.

But hey, there's always a chance to lead by example as this particular artist did.

Thanks! It can be a hard balance to strike. Since I'm female, I do get annoyed at how frequently woman are portrayed as inseparable from being sex objects. Yet at the same time, being a strong, sexy female is just as much hero worship as strong, bulky men is for guys. I think really the key is context, and I try to keep that in mind. I'm not going to shy away from cleavage where it feels appropriate, and sometimes I do just want to draw sexy women well (because women are beautiful)- but I try to strike a balance when I can.

Hey, the major concern I have with this is that the rights for this piece are already own by Paizo. You would not be able to use it for anything that you plan on selling or distributing- this is a legal matter out of my own control. If you want to use it for your own personal enjoyment, that is ok.